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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Antique Limoges porcelain

Serious collectors know that Limoges specialise in trinket boxes and
that those little boxes are worth more than almost anything that could
fit inside them. Antique Limoges porcelain is considered the finest hard paste porcelain in the world because of three very specific characteristics.The first being the essential ingredients used in creating Limoges
porcelain are all local natural ingredients, kaolin, feldspar and
quartz. Then the intense firing process that forms the superb glaze that
cannot be penetrated by the elements and gives Limoges porcelain that
exquisite translucence. Finally, an abundance of skilled artists and the French flair for
aristic design set a standard that other Europeans and American
porcelain producers struggle to emulate.

Limoges Coronet hand painted porcelain wall plate

So, if your grandchild has just lost her first tooth or received his
first haircut. How do you commemorate such a momentous event? Believe it or not, you’ll find an exquisite Limoges porcelain trinket
box designed especially to memorialize those first strands of snipped
hair, or that first lost tooth.

If Limoges went so far as to design a mini container for these, you can bet you’ll find one that will fit any need you have. It didn’t take me long to find something that could commemorate just
about any holiday, major life event, and collectible category (mini
hats, shoes and bags, for example). Even the women from the Moulin Rouge
have been spun off into a Limoges collectible. They’re represented in
the form of a tiny, hinged porcelain mini trinket box.

Limoges Antique Teapot Snuff Box 1898-72

You will hear the name come up time and time again at a typical antiques
auction, so if you find you’re getting hooked on the beauty of the
collectible Limoges boxes I am focusing on here, take a look at their
other creations, all highly collectible and sought after.

The history behind it, and the current manufacturing process certainly
play a role, adding to the mystique and individuality of the pieces. Limoges, a French city southwest of Paris, predates Roman times. Its
physical placement, directly on the river Vienne, makes Limoges an easy,
accessible stop; one that would even be called necessary in those early
years when journeys were more arduous than enjoyable.

Unlike many American towns which found themselves dependent on one
industry to fuel the economy, an industry that dried up for one reason
or another, the artisans of Limoges didn’t simply curl up and die
because the trends had changed. Luckily they caught a break.
Just as the call for Limoges enamel pieces dwindled, kaolin, an
essential clay in the making of porcelain, was found just 18 miles
southwest of Limoges at St. Yreix. With that, a new era began for the
town.

Antique Limoges Porcelain Button Hand Touched Transfer Woman

Limoges built its first porcelain factory a mere six years after the initial find of the kaolin. The kaolin is combined with pulverized feldspar and quartz. Then a
fine process of milling, pulverizing, heating, molding and firing
begins. Europeans consider this product porcelain only if it retains a
translucent quality.
Every piece can not meet the rigorous standards. Many crack or break
during the process and must be discarded. What sets antique limoges
porcelain apart from other ceramic forms may be considered a
technicality, but a necessary one to the creators of this art form. Pottery will absorb water. Conversely, even if porcelain has been
chipped or cracked it will not retain water. Nonetheless, chipped or
cracks items have to go. They won’t meet the Limoges quality standards.

The shape is there, but an artisan then has to decorate the
individual object, add tiny hinges if needed, to any one of the
figurines, pill boxes or other porcelain product you’ll find bearing the
Limoges porcelain marks.
Once the artist completes his or her work using the special paints
used on porcelain, the product goes through another firing process. This
long production process is what makes Limoges porcelain collectible.
By the end of the process, like snowflakes, no two products will turn
out the same. So when a collector speaks of having a one-of-a-kind item,
this will be the truth.

Ten Limoges hand painted porcelain fish plates

Shortly after the first Limoges factory was established, Louis XVI
bought it. For a time, production was still limited due to restrictions
on the production of porcelain products. The French Revolution brought
an end to these restrictions and Limoges flourished in the wake.

Once again, its physical placement played a huge role: a mixture of
its proximity to the essential ingredients, as well as its general
accessibility by land or water. Moreover, the city was lucky enough to have a grand forest in
Limousin, which could supply the extensive amounts of wood needed to
fire the kilns used in the production of antique Limoges porcelain. On all counts, Limoges proved the ideal spot. Workers flocked to the
town, and by 1819, four porcelain factories graced the land. By 1861, this would increase again to 27 factories, supporting some 3,166 workers.

1900 Antique Porcelain Serving Dish Dresser Tray

David Haviland who had come to Limoges from New York in 1842 in
search of porcelain to import to the United States, got the ball
rolling. He knew the beauty of the product and the marketability, as
his own family had emigrated from Limoges. By 1855, the demand for porcelain from Limoges in the United States
called for Haviland to construct his own factory in the town. By the late 1850’s, sales in the United States accounted for around
half of the antique limoges porcelain being manufactured in the city. Given the extent to which Limoges now depended on the United States
for its sales, it naturally suffered a major blow during the Civil War
when exports to the United States were curtailed, then halted entirely.

Today, Limoges Porcelain marks carry a designation by the French government. So, when you see a piece of limoges porcelain, the mark you see is
not from a particular studio. It may come from one of many studios in
the region that choose to use the standardized Limoges porcelain marks. And that’s natural given that the elements (including the traces of
soil) needed to produce these delicate creations can be found only in
Limoges, France.